DESCRIPTION
Verana Hill, formerly known as Albany Family Housing, is a 62-unit affordable housing east bay community built on a City of Albany-owned site at 755 Cleveland Avenue, formerly owned by Caltrans. The building is cut into the sloped site to effectively minimize the building massing and hide the parking podium below grade. The podium will be lined by three residences, the main entry lobby, management office and bike room on Cleveland Avenue. Care has been taken to locate access to the parking, trash, and utilities to prevent conflict. The building activates Washington Avenue with apartments at the courtyard level, corner residence, stepping planters, and secure resident entry to the podium courtyard from Washington Avenue.
The 62 units of affordable family housing will be an important community asset that will harmonize with the East Shore/Solano Hill neighborhood, will help activate and make Pierce Street park a safer place, will allow the future bike path to be implemented by the City, and will meet the City’s sustainability goals and principles. This will be a housing community which is part of the neighborhood and wider community, a beneficial addition to the City of Albany, and a concrete example of Albany’s commitment to housing for all income levels.
DESIGN FEATURES
- L-shaped building frames the courtyard and protects it from the traffic noise
- Vertical rhythm of bays respond to the residential neighborhood
- Shared outdoor recreation space for residents
- Spacious community rooms
Project Details
- Client: SAHA
- Building size/acres: 93,249 sq. ft./1.13 acres
- Density: 62 units, 55 du/ac
Affordable Housing
As a multidisciplinary firm, we plan and design a wide variety of affordable housing from high-density urban communities to small-lot single-family housing providing over 4,000 built units in our 35 years. With cost and quality of life as primary concerns in our housing, we use simple elements of construction, building materials and scale to create beautiful spaces. Our work has earned numerous design awards at both national and local levels. Recent accolades include the PCBC Grand Award for Best Health/Wellness Design for Vitalia, the NAHRO Best Project award for AVi at Olde Town, and the Architizer A+ Special Mention for Affordable Housing for Victory Village.
East Bay Affordable Housing
Hana Gardens, a 63 mixed-use senior affordable housing community adjacent to City Hall and within El Cerrito’s mid-town area, received the Governor’s Historic Preservation Award, for the Contra Costa Florist Building Preservation in 2019. St. Joseph’s Redevelopment, Phase 1, in Oakland won 8 awards including the ULI – Global Awards of Excellence as well as the AIASF – Honor Award, Historic Preservation.